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LABORATORY PROFILE Proteomics unleashed It's not yet a household word, but if Keith Williams, director of the Australian Proteome Analysis Facility (APAF) at Macquarie University in Sydney, has anything to do with it, "proteome"—the protein complement of an organism— will soon roll off the tongue as easily as "genome". And proteomics will complement genetics in our understanding of biological processes. APAF is the first research establishment in the world devoted to proteomics. It was set up with a $7 million grant in late 1995, as one of the former Labour government's last minute, preelection forays into promoting innovation, which established seven National Major Facilities. The ever-increasing number of APAF" staff had been working in temporary laboratories until earlier this year, when they moved into their permanent home on the Macquarie University campus. The almost pristine laboratories have the largest collection of protein sequencers in the southern hemisphere. They overlook verdant hills destined to house a newr technology park, where Williams's fertile imagination already sees profitable APAF" spinoffs. For those unfamiliar with the term, the name "proteome" was coined by APAF" researcher Marc Wilkins in 1994, when he was a Ph.D. student under Williams. "It simply refers to the protein complement of the genome," explains APAF" Operations Manager, Brad Walsh. "Tlie problem with genomics is that if you stop at the genome, you still don't know much about the levels of protein expression." After all, he points out, it is well-known that proteins can remain in the cell far longer than their niRNA.
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Thus, whereas genomics is predictive, proteomics deals with the actual end product. Proteomics got its start in the Macquarie University Centre for Analytical Biotechnology (MUCAB), which was established by Williams in 1991. "MUCAB is a dream," rhapsodizes Williams today. "It is a vehicle Keith Williams is excited about the future ot the proteome. for researchers in both the Schools of Biological Sciences and already in progress to increase producChemistry to dream up things and to use tivity. APAF has the capability to design MUCAB to achieve outcomes " and develop its own instrumentation as the need arises. This is being done In an era of shrinking federal research through an R&D grant, called Austrafunds, MUCAB has been able to attract lian Proteome Industrial Research and substantial industry funding for both anaDevelopment (APIRD). lytical research and instrument development. Proteomics was conceived and nur"The goal behind APIRD is to detured in its cramped laboratories, which velop new instrumentation for proteomhave spawned some of the best Australian ics," Williams told Analytical Chemistry. protein scientists of this decade. Williams He says the federal funding, which runs is planning to step down as MUCAB direcout in 2000, is for building and equ|[>tor to devote his energy to APAF. ment only, which means that APAF must raise its operating funds from reThe APAF facility was built to handle search grants and fee-for-service activilarge-volume protein sequencing. Walsh ties. It can also collaborate with its comsays the goal is to analyze 1000 proteins a mercial partners—Beckman Instruweek and process 1000 2-1) electrophoretic ments, Hewlett Packard. Gradipore, gels by the year 1999. Bio-Rad, GBC, and the Australian robotThere are three laboratories—one for ics company ARRM to develop new separation and two for sequencing and analysis. Here, two MALDI-TOF mass instrumentation. spectrometers, top of the line sequencers As a National Facility, APAF" is in a (including the only C-terminal sequencer good position to achieve its goals. To in Australia), and a brand new robot await date, major projects include an analysis mass production. of human tears, mapping the E. colt proteome, and mapping the proteomes of The technology used is a combination wool and whey. of standard 2-D electrophoresis, Fxlman sequencing, and novel analytical techWilliams says the proteome provides niques, such as peptide mass fingerprinta new insight into biology. "There is a ing. The sophisticated bioinformatics used finiteness to biology that people haven't are developed in collaboration with Denis really conceived of before. I think peoHochstrasser's group at the University ple previously thought that everything Hospital in Geneva (Switzerland). Hochis so horrendously complicated that strasser is also an APAF" director. you'll never get to the end of it. What we are saying is that there is an end. An The separation lab has room for a maximum of 16 personnel. The high volume will organism has only so many genes, and while there are a lot of proteins that get be achievable by using commercially availmodified, there is still a finite number of able mini-gels, Walsh says. modified proteins." In the analytical laboratory, new equipment is still being delivered, but work is Elizabeth Ban
Analytical Chemistry News & Features, May 1, 1998
